Working in a public library after university as a paraprofessional, a research assistant.  I liked the place, liked the people, liked the idea of the library.

Do you have a library/information science degree?  

    MLS, 1980, University of British Columbia.

What kinds of library positions have you held and where?

    Children's librarian, Vancouver Public Library, Okanagan Regional Library, Surrey Public Library.

How long were you a librarian?  About 10 years

Are you currently working as a librarian, or do you plan to continue in that profession?  No

If not, why did you leave it?  Changed careers, went into broadcasting

Which came first in your life, your career as a librarian, or writing for children? 

    Librarianship was first

Did your library work have anything to do with becoming a children's writer?

    Yes, although there was a long space between finishing that work and writing a novel for children

Did your library work directly influence your work as an author?   No, not directly

Did librarianship increase your knowledge of children's literature and influence the kinds of things you chose to write?

    Probably, though it's not something that lives on the top layer of consciousness for me

Did incidents from your library work ever make it into your books? 
Did you ever set any scenes in your books in the library?  No

What are/were the greatest benefits of being a librarian to you as a writer?

    I wasn't writing when I was a librarian, therefore, N/A

Do you feel that librarianship has/had specific benefits to you as a writer?

    Yes. Contact with writers, contact with librarians who were also writers, an encouraging environment -- these things were seeds that took a long time to germinate

NOTE:  Bill Richardson is the author of After Hamelin, published by Annick Press, 2000.